Ivory
by iatethedarknessflame
Summary: The Dark Hand, the world's leading crime syndicate, is soon to meet its downfall by the hands of an archaeologist. Beyond the eye of the public, the Enforcers of the former Dark Hand get wrapped up in the world of wizards, demons and chi. Things aren't easier when Chow's cousin, Ivory, joins the mess. Follow the adventures of a girl into a world hidden beneath our own.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! The events take place during the TV series as if the OC was there the whole time. I will mostly stick to the original plot but I may tweak things as I see necessary and I will also be adding pieces. As the description says, it follows Ivory and the Dark Hand enforcers as the main characters rather than Jackie and his family. Please leave a review – tell me if you like it, if you don't. Or if you just want to chat!

* * *

_"Valmont, I trust that you and your men can retrieve the first talisman. This is the first of the twelve that I must acquire."_ A sinister voice hissed from a golden statue adorned on the wall of a long hall. The magnificent dragon hung behind a desk, in front of which a white haired man stood.

"I can assure you Shendu, we will not fail. And I trust our services will be compensated..." The man spoke with a distinct British accent. He adjusted the yellow tie which decorated his green suit.

_"Yes..."_ the dragon hissed as its eyes glowed red.

"Well I must be leaving; I don't want to miss the flight," Valmont disclosed curtly. He briskly left the room and took the elevator to the roof. He boarded the helicopter where his subordinates waited.

"So, Big V, what's the plan?"

-o0o-

Four men stood on a cliff overlooking the ruins of an ancient castle. They observed three figures emerging from the entrance closely followed by a crescendoing scream. A part of the ancient side wall burst and a man was ejected out of the ruins. Perched on a shield, he made his way down the side of a cliff to the other explorers.

The leader of the stake-out group watched this man closely. He observed him and his possession as they left the area. Valmont ordered the group with unmistakable authority.

"Follow him."

-o0o-

The men traced him to their own city of San Francisco. With various resources, they discovered his occupation and residence. Jackie Chan was a university archaeologist lodging with his Uncle in a shop. The pursuers located the shop in the bustling Chinatown and planned to pay the Chan's a visit.

The three subordinates stood before their boss at the end of the long hall. Valmont was preparing his men to retrieve the talisman and shield from its current owner.

"Offer him any price and does he refuse, give him a day to think it over," he instructed.

"Get the shield, pay the man, bring it back. I got it," listed the orange haired crony.

"And before you go, Chow, something er arrived for you and it is in the common room. Please go take of it," Valmont requested with slight disgust.

"Oh I wonder if it's that new jacket I ordered!" the shortest companion suggested eagerly as they left.

"Or maybe it's some of those homemade cookies from your mom!" the larger one guessed.

"You do love those cookies, don't you, Ratso?" Chow replied with a laugh.

The two argued about the mysterious delivery until they got off of the elevator. They even prompted their comrade, Finn, to what he believed it was. He thought it was probably just a large stack of bills.

They arrived in the common room to be greeted by a young girl sprawled across the couch. She idly flipped through channels on the TV. The men entered from behind the couch and just stood in the doorway. Finn nudged his friend and urged him to do something. Chow took an uncertain step towards the couch. Before he could speak, the girl noticed him and jumped up to greet him.

"Hey, cuz, long time no see!" she greeted enthusiastically.

"Aha yeah hi," Chow responded with uncertainty.

The girl stared at him for a moment before retrieving a picture from her pocket.

"I brought this in case you didn't remember me..." She handed him a picture of a small boy sitting on the ground with a crying baby. "That was us. Um a long time ago."

All Ratso could say was "Whoa".

"Oh I remember now! You guys live on the other side of the country. In uh-"

"Yeah Massachusetts," she finished. The girl reached in her pocket and pulled out a letter this time. "This is for you." She handed it to Chow.

He took a minute to read the letter then another to take it all in.

"So you're going to one of the top private schools here and you were hoping to crash with me?" he confirmed.

"Yeah pretty much."

"Well we gotta run an errand. Why don't you wait here and then we'll go out to dinner later," he said as the men began to walk out of the door. "See you later Iris."

"Uh it's Ivory but yeah I'll see you," she corrected rather awkwardly.

-o0o-

While everyone was out, Ivory took the opportunity do some exploring. She reviewed the places that she had already seen. When she had arrived, she entered through the main glass doors of a multi-story building in the business district of the city. She made her way to the elevators in the back of the busy lobby. Reading the sign, she was not able decide her destination floor. Luckily a doorman noticed her confusion and delivered her to the correct floor. Buzzing in a message to the boss, he left her in the common room on the 12th floor. On this floor, she began her exploration.

The common room included a sitting area with a couch, some chairs and a flat screen TV. Next to this was a foosball table which could be rearranged as a pool table. On the other side of the room was a kitchen area with a small kitchen table. Ivory checked the refrigerator but there was only a half filled carton of milk and some cheese.

Meandering down the hallway, she noticed four doors which were widely spaced. All of them were locked so she decided to explore another floor before getting ready for dinner.

By the elevator, there was a sign that read the details of each floor. The 11th, 12th, and 13th floors had an asterisk which denoted _Dark Hand. _

"Well that's pretty ominous," Ivory said aloud to no one.

Choosing the 13th floor, she took the elevator up a floor. She exited into a narrow hall lined with potted plants and ending with a door. The window on the door was hazy and what lay beyond it was a mystery. Ivory could hear a British man shouting exasperatedly. Not wanting to interrupt, she returned to the common room to get ready for dinner.

She hauled her suitcase into the bathroom and pulled out a pair of jeans. Replacing only her sweatpants, she decided that it would be alright to continue wearing the fitted t-shirt she currently had on. It showed off her trim figure and toned arms. And it was comfortable - can't go wrong there.

As she finished in the bathroom, she heard the boys returning from their errand. She made her way to the common room as they discussed dinner plans.

"Boy am I starving!" Ratso exclaimed.

"Well we are going to have to walk since the cars been busted," Finn mentioned to the rest of the group.

"That guy was crazy! And to think we're gonna have to see him again. Hey Ivory, ready for dinner?" Chow had noticed that she entered the room.

She followed them to the elevator as they continued to banter.

"Man, Big V seemed pretty ticked. I don't know what's worse, that archaeologist or Tohru's arms," Finn rambled.

They turned their attention to the girl once they reached the elevator.

"It has been years since I last saw you. How old are you? You must at least ten or eleven now." Chow started to make conversation.

"Well actually I'm 16 now," Ivory replied.

"Oh really? Well time sure does fly," Chow chuckled awkwardly.

There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence before Finn finally spoke up.

"So what brings you to the West Coast?"

"All the schools around my home are too easy. I needed 'more challenge to keep my mind occupied'" She quoted the lecture that she had heard many times. "So there's a good school over here that I'm supposed to attend."

"Well you'll like it here. There's a lot of stuff to do," Ratso kindly mentioned.

Ivory smiled at the warm welcome as they left the building. She got a tour of the area as they walked to the restaurant for supper. Nearby, there was a convenient store, a large library, and a park. A few blocks over were a bunch of apartments.

"We all live over there right now but we're planning on moving into the apartments on the same floor as the common room. There are four bedrooms so you can have one too," Chow explained.

As they reached the restaurant and waited to be served, Ivory took a turn asking questions.

"So what exactly do you guys do?" she asked first.

"Well sometimes we like to watch cartoons."

"Or go to the mall."

"Or get down and funky at the roller-rink!"

Ratso, Chow, and Finn's answers were nice, but not exactly what she meant.

"Oh, well I meant for work," she specified.

The three of them looked at each other nervously before giving cautious answers.

"We work for a, uh, shipping company. It's the largest around," Chow replied.

"You know, all sorts of rare, high class goods," Finn added.

"Usually smuggl-" An elbow to the gut cut off Ratso's thought.

"What he means is, our work is very secretive. Don't want anyone snooping around our highly successful business," Chow covered up.

They sat in awkward silence until their food came. Ivory was thinking about how conspicuous these characters were being.

Towards the end of the meal, a ring sounded from Ratso's pocket. He pulled out a large phone and an image of Valmont appeared on the screen.

"We have a lead on the talisman. You can find the Chans at the _Noodles Noodles _restaraunt in Chinatown. I trust you will not fail me." And the screen was blank.

"I'm guessing that's your boss?" Ivory asked.

"Yup that's good old Valmont. You better go outside and get a head start while we pay. We need to... run another errand. Just turn left when you get outside," Chow ordered.

Ivory did as she was told and began the tread to Chinatown.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for the long update time! Thank you so much for reading my story, I hope you enjoy it! Leave a review? Or don't. Want to talk? I like new friends!

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Ivory meandered down the dark streets of the city. Not sure where she was going, she took a slow pace and continued forwards. Street lights glistened, one after another, lighting her path. After a while, she heard pounding footsteps advancing from behind. She turned around just as Finn, Ratso, and Chow rushed passed her.

"What are you doing kid? C'mon run!" Finn turned around to yell to her.

Ivory stopped walking and gave him a questioning look.

"Uh you know, Valmont wants the job done fast," Chow said with a nervous chuckle.

Looking beyond the girl, he spotted something which made him anxious.

"We better get going," he advised before taking off in a sprint.

Ivory heard an angry yell from behind. She turned to see a restaurant managed running towards her.

"Oh my god, what did they do?" she muttered to herself as she ran after her cousin.

By the time she caught up to the rest of the group, they had stopped in front a small restaurant in Chinatown. Too winded to speak, they stood there for a few minutes as Ivory observed the city landscape. The hills of San Francisco had gotten the better of the adults but not the girl.

When Chow was finally able to speak, he ordered her to wait outside until they returned.

"Yeah this is a pretty nasty business and things might get a bit ugly," Ratso explained as they entered the building.

"Sure but aren't we supposed to go _Noodles Noodles_? This place says _House of Wu_," she asked with confusion.

"Don't worry we're at the right place. Valmont must have gotten rotten sources. Trust me, we know what we're doing," Finn assured her.

Shortly after they went in, Ivory could hear shouting and crashing. She stepped aside as the door flung open and customers evacuated the building. In a brief moment before the door shut, she could see Finn hitting the ground closely followed by Chow. a minute later, all three bolted out of the door looking spooked and Ratso was missing his tie.

"C'mon, let's go," Chow shrieked as they ran past the girl and slammed the door shut.

They ran until the three boys needed to stop to catch their breath in an alley. Finn retrieved a large phone from his pocket and dialed for Valmont. He explained they had "stomped Chan" (making Ivory laugh out loud and having Chow shush her) but they didn't see a talisman. Valmont simply stated, "You will be punished," effectively ending the conversation and leaving Finn and Ratso gawking at the blank screen.

"Well it's great knowing that you have everything under control," Ivory teased them.

"It's not as easy as it looks," Chow muttered.

"If it weren't for Chan..." Finn's voice trailed off into a short gasp.

A man blocked the entrance to the ally and Ratso, Finn, Chow sprinted away. Ivory remained in place as the man chased them. He wore very plain clothing and had a soft face. Ivory couldn't understand what was so intimidating about him.

"Oh are you ok?" he asked her quickly as he passed.

"Yeah I'm fine." She gave him a short wave. She thought he heard him mumble something about the Enforcers taking candy from children.

Ivory remained in place long enough to see a small girl peer around the corner. She smirked to herself and pursued the men.

Ivory decided to follow the crowd, which led her onto another main road. She passed an alley and noticed a small red glow. When she peered into the backstreet, it was gone. However, she thought she noticed a small movement in the shadows. As she stepped forward to get a better look, a fleet of ninjas lept from the shadows and rushed down the street. The sight stopped her in her tracks. She stood on the sidewalk with a dazed expression as the ninjas jumped through the street.

-o0o-

"Who has the keys!" Finn yelled as he fumbled through his pockets.

"He's coming!" Ratso nervously informed the others.

Finn found his keys and the three sped away in their car. Finn slowed the car once they were a safe distance from their pursuer.

"See kid, that man is scary. It's best if you stay away- Uh Ivory?" Chow searched the car for his cousin.

"Uh it looks like we forgot the kid," Ratso pointed out. Chow responded with a sarcastic stare.

"Well we better go look for her." Finn turned the car around and began driving back.

-o0o-

Once Ivory regained her composure, she began wandering the dark streets. She wasn't sure where she was so she just kept walking. After a while, she made her way to a street corner on a hill. Below, the street merged with a larger one which led to a bridge. There weren't many cars on that road and none on the bridge.

As she gazed over the water, the small girl whizzed past her on an old skateboard. She rode the hill down to the bridge. She was followed by a large truck with hitch-hiking ninjas. A few moments later, Ivory heard a wailing scream and that man flew down the hill on a shopping cart.

She was still gawking at the strange precession when a white car pulled up to her. The passenger seat window rolled down and she could clearly see Finn, Ratso, and Chow.

"Hey kid, get in the car," Finn ordered.

Ratso and Chow were in the backseat so she sat in the front.

"You know that was kinda creepy. You probably shouldn't say that," she mentioned.

"Well you shouldn't run off like that," he retorted.

"Actually we were the ones who ran, I think. After Chan showed up," Ratso interrupted.

She laughed at them. "That's right you did."

-o0o-

The car pulled into to the driveway of an old warehouse on the shore. The men seemed accustomed to this setting and perfectly at ease. Ivory, on the other hand, reluctantly left the car and slowly made her way inside the building.

"Taking children off the streets and putting them in this old shack?" she joked nervously.

"It's really not that bad. Kind of homey," Ratso reassured.

_By who's definition of home? _Ivory thought after she shut the door behind her. Everyone was crowded in a small room with little furniture. From what she could see in the dim lighting, it appeared that the paint from the walls was peeling. Everything was a hue of brown or orange and covered in a layer of dust. A mountainous man stood with his back to the door. He was explaining to their boss why, once again, they were unable to locate their talisman. After an exchange of riddling words, an agreement was made.

"I understand," the giant boomed into phone to close the conversation. With one final request from his boss, the man made his way to an elevator.

"Whoa, who's that big guy," Ivory asked in awe and fear.

"That's Tohru. He's a no funny business kind of guy so I would stay away from him if I were you," Chow warned.

"Man, he could crush you to a pulp," Finn added looking at her petite figure. "Or er girl."

From above their heads, they heard a large crash.

"We better go check that out. You can stay down here," Chow advised.

She could hear even more clamor from above once the three left. Eventually, the racket ceased so she decided to take the elevator to the second floor to join everyone. She was met with a disastrous scene in a large warehouse room. She did not dare leave the elevator and risk receiving blame (which she figured someone might try to place on her). Boxes about the room lay overturned and broken, their contents spilling out. Large crates had released mountains of fish across the floor. Various cans, a sword and a chain were among the many items strewn about the area. With all of her careful observations, what she failed to notice was three men lying on the ground. She continued her ascension up the warehouse floors without a second thought.

Between traveling from the second to the third floor, three massive crashes occurred abruptly. The first sounded of a thunderous crack of floor boards and shook the elevator. Ivory nearly toppled over from the disturbance. The second, only moments later, was almost as raucous as the first, but didn't rattle the box nearly as much. The following crash could be heard above the mechanics of the rising elevator but seemed distant. There did occur a final, fourth clatter followed by a sizable splash. However, it was inaudible over the ring of the elevator arriving at its destination.

The first room on the third floor was just barely larger than a storage closet. A small figure was crouched on the ground. Upon closer inspection, Ivory discovered a vast hole in the ground. It extended through three floors and the dock below the building. A small girl sprang to life and bounded to the elevator. It was the same girl that Ivory had followed earlier. Before Ivory had the chance examine the hole, a man dangling from the first floor had scrambled to safety.

What she first noticed was her friends talking from the floor below. Crawling to the edge, she peered into the hole. Finn, Ratso and Chow were standing close to the edge and looking up. Ivory decided to join them, but rater than taking the elevator, she plummeted down the hole. The largest gap between floors occurred between the second and third floor but that mattered very little to the girl. Using the edge as leverage, she threw her body weight away from the hole to avoid falling in. She turned circles to regain a sense of direction and descended until she landed upright on the floor below. She had landed behind the others who hadn't noticed her entrance.

"Whoa, how'd you get there?" Ratso was the first to notice her arrival.

"From up there," she pointed towards the ceiling.

"Well how did you get up there?" Chow joined the conversation.

"The elevator?" she responded with a rhetorical question.

"Then how'd you get down from there?"

"The hole."

"So you mean to say you jumped down from the hole which is way above our heads?" Finn asked skeptically.

"Yeah that's what I did." The incessant questioning was beginning to make Ivory feel slightly awkward. She began to shift around.

"And how exactly did you not get hurt while landing?"

"Uh I don't know, I just didn't. And I didn't expect to when I jumped either. Look I'll beat you down to the first floor." She walked away from the interrogation.

While the men took the elevator, Ivory reached the first floor in the same manner as she had reached the second. She stood around the gaping hole as the others arrived in the elevator.

"Wow that's incredible!" Chow exclaimed as he stepped out of the elevator.

"How the heck do you do that?"

"That doesn't even seem humanly possible!"

"You're not an alien, are you?"

The girl didn't hear any of their comments. She was occupied with formulating questions of her own.

"I'll answer your questions if you answer mine," she negotiated. Their whole business of a 'shipping company' seemed highly irregular.

"Shoot," Chow agreed.

"Would you mind telling me again what _exactly_ do you do for work?"

The three looked at eachnother nervously before offering an answer.

"Valmont probably wants a report. Let's head back, then we will talk."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the super long time between updates and thank you so much for sticking it out and reading this net chapter (if a follower)! If not a follower, thanks so much for taking an interest in my story! In trying to get all details perfectly in line, the writing process is a slow one… Wanna talk? Review or PM me!

Disclaimer: I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures or any characters except my OC

* * *

Ivory stared out of the helicopter window. The landscape below transformed from busy city skyscrapers to rather barren land with a few highways cutting through the desert expanse.

"So, I bet you've never been on a private helicopter before," Chow more or less asked her.

"Nope." She grumbled and did not bother to look at him. She was still angry from learning that her "surprise trip to Mexico" was actually a business thing. Her problem wasn't the fact that they were basically going on a crime excavation, but more that she was led to believe that it was a relaxing getaway. Ivory had been looking forward to wandering the streets of Mexico City and touring ancient ruins.

"So we told you all about the Dark Hand, when are you gonna spill?" Finn asked her.

Immediately following the Enforcer's work confession, Valmont had ordered them to his office to discuss the location of the next talisman. Within an hour, they were whisked away on a 'surprise vacation'. Ivory would know better next time.

She wasn't sure where to begin her recount. Compared to her story, learning that a trusted family member worked for the world's largest crime syndicate barely scathed the edge of the inordinate. But then again, the Dark Hand was dipping into the world of magic and demons. And that was comparable.

"Well first of all, I actually came here for two reasons. One, for better schooling. Two, to stay out of trouble. Back home, I..." She wasn't sure exactly how to put it. The Enforcers leaned in simultaneously, holding their breath in anticipation. "...I hunted demons."

Being wrapped up in demon business themselves, it wasn't the scandal of the century. They were considerably surprised though.

"All the way on the east coast?" Chow asked in disbelief.

"Well, look at us now, we're going to Mexico," she replied lamely.

"Yeah wasn't there something about 'the four corners of the globe'?" Finn added.

"But anyways," she continued, "I guess some of their traits rubbed off on me. Obviously it's expected that the more I train, the stronger I get. But I got way stronger than normal. So now I can jump, kick, punch, block, you name it."

She sat for a moment trying to think of anything she left out.

"Whoa freaky," Finn exclaimed.

"Do you think we'll get super powers too if we hang out with Shendu enough?" Ratso seemed to love the idea.

"They aren't really super powers. Just, er, enhancements." That was the only word she could think of at the moment.

"Now I see why you weren't surprised when we told you about that talking dragon statue. But I'm curious, what did you think about the whole crime thing?" Chow asked with uncertainty.

"Eh, I don't really care. I believe that 'good' and 'bad' are relative." She stopped for a moment and grinned. "And you're my relative. Ha." Ivory smirked at her pun before continuing. "And I don't think it makes you bad people either. Especially these ancient artifacts and treasure. I mean, they aren't doing any good just sitting around."

The helicopter touched down on location. An ancient pyramid beyond lush forest greeted the travelers as they filed out into the open. Everyone quickly moved towards the monument before stopping outside of the ruins. Finn surveyed the area with a pair of binoculars and locked onto a figure making its way to the top of the pyramid.

"I hope you don't mind, we told Valmont about you. Ya know, he thinks you could be an asset to the team so you might want to consider joining," Chow admitted. "He's looking for more recruits, like that guy." He pointed to the smaller of the two unfamiliar men. One was the pilot and Ivory had seen him around on a few occasions.

Finn relayed them orders before she could respond. "He's in the pyramid, let's move."

"Uh, don't pyramids have mummies inside them, sir?" the new guy asked nervously. He wasn't much older than Ivory.

"Only in Egypt," Finn replied flatly.

"Ha! Noob," Ivory retorted. She grew sheepish as the adults stared at her then muttered an apology.

"Why don't we just let Chan find the talisman?" he suggested, missing the girl's outburst. "Just take it from him when he climbs out."

"Listen, new guy, we don't know what power this ox talisman has." Finn impatiently gave an example of the talisman's potential power.

The new guy freaked out and ran ahead of the others towards the pyramid. He was winded about a quarter of the way up the steep flight of stairs and the others overtook his lead.

Finn clapped him on the back. "Slow and steady wins the race, man."

However, the rest of the Enforcers were out of breath by the top of the pyramid, with the exception of the buff pilot and Ivory. They soon caught their breath and continued into the ancient structure. At the sight of a man reaching in the mouth of a stone ox, they leapt into action. Ratso and Chow tackled him while Finn went to take the ox talisman. When he could not locate it, Tohru stepped from the shadows to threaten the other man.

"What? When did he get here? Was he with us the whole time?" Ivory's questions were left unanswered, leaving her to gape at the struggle with her mouth slightly ajar.

Growing bored, she left the scene to explore some nearby rooms. The rooms were filled with statues and coffins but there was a small pot of glimmering coins. Fully committed to the idea that the coins would do no good just sitting around, Ivory took a handful and stuffed it in her pocket. She heard yelling outside of the room and watched as the Enforcers fled the premises. As she was about to follow, loud crashes shook the walls and scattered dust. Once everything seemed stable, she went to search for the others. She left the pyramid through an unnatural hole in the side and arrived just in time to wave goodbye to the Enforcer's motorcycles whizzing into the forest. For a moment, she stared in disbelief. Had they really just ditched her there?

Once she came to terms with the fact that she was alone, Ivory took off in a sprint after them, racing through the undergrowth. She was accustomed to forest sprints and had no difficulty dodging obstacles. However, a few motorcycles were not so fortunate. Tree roots and rocks tripped the wheels and Ivory passed the riders as they got up and recovered from their fall. But they and the surrounding forest were all a blur to the runner. It was humanly impossible for anyone, much less a girl her size, to match the speed of the pursuing cycles. Yet, Ivory had nearly caught up to those who had survived the treacherous forest floor...right before they plummeted off the side of the cliff.

Ivory cautiously peered over the edge and waved to the three figures bobbing in the water.

"Hey!" she called to them. "What am I supposed to do now?"

They were too far below to hear her shout.

"We must go into the nearest town to search for the missing talisman," a deep voice grunted from behind.

Once again, Tohru had appeared on scene just as he was needed. Ivory was glad to not have to take matters into her own hands and glad to be given some sense of direction. He left without another word, leaving Ivory to trail behind. Along the forest trek, they picked up Chow and the Pilot who had unfortunate encounters with natural obstacles on their motorcycles. They were over a mile away from any civilization but under the authority of the menacing giant, the small group remained silent for the entire trip.

-o0o-

The walkers and the swimmers reconvened outside of a bustling town. Those who had taken a dive off of the cliff were beginning to dry out under the afternoon sun. After a brief meeting, they split into small groups to cover the area. It seemed as though they would be staying for a while so Chow and Ivory went in search for cheap lodging.

"We should probably get some disguise so we can blend in without being suspected," Chow suggested as they entered the town.

"Who is going to suspect us of what? I mean, if we look suspicious then sure, we'll get some weird looks," Ivory protested. "Oh well, it can be a souvenir, I guess. I got bank so it's alright. Actually, do you that they'll take these in the store?" She reached into her pocket to reveal a handful of gold coins.

Chow's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Where did you get those?!" he squawked.

"Oh whoa, take it easy." She hid them from view and peered around conspicuously. "I got them in the tomb while everyone else was in that cat fight. But really, can I get change for this somewhere?"

"No! We gotta give that to the boss! Just imagine what he'll do when we bring back the talisman and gold!" he shouted excitedly.

"You're not very covert. Now I see why we need disguises," she muttered to him. He was lost in dreams of praise and failed to notice her remark. "Okay yeah work and all, but can I use one of these coins to buy myself a sombrero?"

"Of course. It all comes out of the funding for the trip I think," Chow explained as they entered a tacky gift shop. "We can get something for everyone."

As Chow took the time to carefully choose accessories for everyone, Ivory scanned the bulletin board posted on the wall of the shop. She had grabbed the first poncho and hat that she had seen which left her time to peruse the local happenings. A certain flyer caught her attention.

A wrestling exhibition scheduled for that evening promised a show of the world's best wrestler, El Toro Fuerte. But Ivory was not into wrestling. It was his mask that had caught her eye. Implanted in the red fabric was an octagonal stone. The ox talisman.

"Hey Chow! You'll never believe what I found!" she shouted at her cousin.

"Is it a purple poncho? I can't seem to find anything to match this sombrero..." His voice sounded muffled behind a mountain of clothing in his arms. He peered over the mound at the poster and let out a cry. "No way! I can't believe you found it! We gotta tell the others."

"Ah! Not before we got what we came here for!" Ivory called after him as he dropped his pile and ran out. "I swear if we wasted all this time in here..."

He momentarily reappeared, slapped some money on the counter and ran out of the store with a few ponchos and sombreros. Ivory saw that the register was vacant and quietly slipped out. It would not make sense to leave a gold coin without receiving proper change.

-o0o-

Four suspicious characters stood on the street outside of the wrestling auditorium. The setting sun cast looming shadows over the waiting spectators. Their faces were further shaded by conspicuous sombreros. The colorfully adorned ponchos matched the humor of the hats, which effectively offset their nature of impending mischief.

Their distinct, business-like clothing similarly countered their attempt at a "native" guise. It was not likely that they took the time to notice. And if they had, there was little they would have been able to devise to remedy their look. So there they stood, separate from the crowd drawing from all corners of the darkening street.

"Huh, didn't know Chan was a sports fan," Finn idly voiced.

"What sport? Everyone knows wrestling's fake." Ratso countered.

Tohru ominously peered out from under his tiny hat.

"Hey here are your tickets! You know that line was long. Were you just standing there that whole time? You haven't moved an inch!" Ivory shouted as she ran towards them from the ticket booth.

"Shhhh kid! You'll blow our cover," Finn hissed at her.

Tohru grunted.

"Oh right, your... cover." She rolled her eyes at them.

Some others joined the leery group and they proceeded into the arena.

"So I'm gonna go get some seats while you go chasing that talisman. Ha have fun. I know I will!" Ivory yelled as she parted from the pack.

She made her way down the stands to a seat in the second row from the ring. As she sat down, a massive fighter donned in a red cape and magnificent mask entered the ring. He carried the ox talisman.

"Psh I knew I shouldn't have left the job to them!" she muttered to herself.

"...and the undefeated champion! El Toro Fuerte!"

The crowd went wild. Here stood their champion, their hero. He removed his cape and seized up his not-so-sizeable opponent. In the opposite corner stood a shrimpy man with a terrible costume. He wore a bright blue mask to hide his identity with a matching cape over his - was that an explorer's get-up? He retained his khaki pants as another man ripped off his matching khaki jacket to prepare him for the fight.

The challenger was as lame as he looked; without time to realize the match had started, he was already knocked face down into the ground. How boring. Ivory watched as the talisman-wielding champion took out his opponent in three clean moves. Shortly thereafter, the crowd disbanded and Ivory stalked off to find her cousin.

She found the dubious group milling around the entrance to the arena.

"Well that was pretty dumb. The undefeated champion uses the talisman to cheat. Good luck trying to get it," she mumbled to her cousin as a greeting.

"Huh we have our methods," Finn replied smugly.

"So, uh what do you think the ox talisman does?" Ratso asked to no one in particular.

Ivory answered before she had to listen to any ridiculous suggestions. "I'm pretty sure it's super strength. That other guy couldn't even touch him!"

"Imagine if Chan can't even put a scratch on that guy, how are we gonna face him?" Chow pointed out nervously.

"Hey can I try?" This would be a wonderful opportunity for Ivory to test her skills. Demon hunter versus super power wrestler. A battle like that would go down in history.

"Absolutely not," Chow firmly stated.

"Yeah leave the rough stuff to the men," Finn added.

Ivory glowered at him but did not respond. She knew that she could outdo any of them, except perhaps Tohru but only an honest match could determine that. Maybe one day.

The crowd had receded back to their homes and the dark street lay silent and abandoned. The masked champion emerged from the building followed by a small boy. The match was over but the fighter retained his mask. Finn approached him and offered an obnoxious introduction to our champion, Tohru. He was obviously enjoying the close proximity of their names.

"Tohru, Toro, Tohru..."

"The mask." Tohru shoved Finn out of the way and cut straight to the matter at hand.

"El Toro Fuerte never removes his mask," the wrestler replied in a stately manner.

"Then I will remove it for you!"

As large as he was, Tohru could not even grasp El Toro in any fashion. The wrestler hoisted him in the air and tossed him like a sack of flour.

"Whoa that's so cool! My turn-" Ivory's excitement was cut off by the fleeing Enforcers. Ratso lifted her just as easily as El Toro did Tohru and ran down the street. "Whaaa? Aw curse my small size!" she yelled as they deserted the scene.

-o0o-

The Enforcers observed from the shadows as El Toro denied access to his mask to Jackie Chan (who was like the Boogeyman to the Enforcers).

"Sorry about that incident back there, but when the going gets tough, we scram." Ratso took the opportunity to apologize to Ivory for her forced removal from the fight.

"Don't worry about, I'm sure I'll get another chance," she replied with a smile and a laugh.

A pair of glowing red eyes materialized beside her and she was forced to stifle a scream. Several pairs appeared in the shadows around the public square. The warriors of the shadows stepped into the open and surrounded the quarreling opponents.

Ivory watched as a fight broke out and El Toro mistakenly took Chan as one of the Shadowkhan and tossed him against a wall. She was herded into a small jeep as a box encased El Toro's head and removed his famed mask. Tohru returned to the vehicle with the Talisman and an unconscious archaeologist.

-o0o-

The Jeep reached a small runway where a plane awaited their arrival. Soon they would depart for San Francisco to present their capture to Valmont. However, the flight was delayed by miscommunication difficulties. In the meantime, Ivory stole away with the recently acquired treasure.

"I'm going to wait outside. Let me know when we're leaving." She waited for an affirmative answer before exiting. She did not want to be left behind in Mexico. "Just want some fresh air before we have to spend a few hours in this cramped cabin," she added casually.

Inside the plane, the others were busy confining Chan with rope or correcting the communication error. The men were too busy to notice an empty box devoid of a talisman.

Ivory carefully shut the sliding plane door behind her. She examined the charm in her hand. The head of an ox was painted on one face and inscriptions were etched on another.

"Now how do I get this to work? C'mon activate!" She thrust the stone into the air. "And BOOM!" She swung it around in her hand.

A cool breeze passed over the hot Mexican air. It relaxed her frustration and eased her mind.

_I am an ox. I am as strong as the sun and stubborn as the mountain. Inhale slowly, exhale with purpose. _

Ivory clenched the rock in her palm and felt the strong magic course through her blood as she activated the talisman. The world became a smaller place. No longer confined by solid objects, Ivory felt a confidence over every object. Even the densest boulder could not resist her fortified strength. Power flowed through her every muscle and she yearned to test it.

Ivory bounded off the runway, each step stronger than the earth below it. A small boulder lay at the shoulder of the road. She raised a fist and struck it with everything she had. The instant her knuckles made contact with the solid slab, she felt a chill overcome her body. A dull pain shot through her hand and up her arm.

"Agh it's not supposed to hurt like that!" she wailed in misery. She stated dismally at her throbbing, red hand. However, she noticed with satisfaction that the rock was in worse condition than she was. In fact, it more or less ceased to exist. The only remnants were nonessential chunks of rock and a cloud of dust.

"Say, we'll take that off your hands for you," a small voice chirped from behind her.

"Ugh please do." Still anguishing the plight of her hand, Ivory lightly tossed the talisman towards the voice without a second thought. Good riddance.

After the pain had subsided, she was able to clear her muddied thoughts.

"Wait, that's not right," she muttered to herself as she returned to the plane. They would probably be departing shortly and she did not want to be left behind.

As she boarded the plane, a scuffle broke out in the cabin. The unmasked wrestler was caught in a gridlock with the massive Tohru as a child crawled around the floor and under seats. A constricted Jackie Chan stood outside the plane while Finn and Chow lay unconscious on the ground.

Ivory sat in a seat and observed the scene unfold. The plane took off with Chan attached by the rope. The girl attempted to pull him into the plane and muttered something to herself. El Toro Fuerte and Tohru slid around the aircraft as the plane dipped and dived. The talisman also slid around the floor and landed at Ivory's feet.

"Dumb rock," she muttered as she kicked it across the floor. She pouted out of the window for the remainder of the flight. The stalemate of the fighters bored her and her hand was still sore.

A series of dips and dives ensued and the men yelled a lot. She failed to notice and unconscious pilot slide past her feet. The nauseating voyage concluded with a severe crash-landing in the middle of town. Several buildings and the airplane were counted as casualties to the landing.

The dust cleared to reveal three fighters in a stare-down in the square. Tohru knocked out his opponents with one square blow. However, issuing the magic of the talisman, the child took out the large warrior with a single drop-kick which initiated the collapse of an entire building.

Ivory slipped away as a petty argument followed between two children. The landing drew forth a large crowd and Ivory did not want to receive any of the blame.

-o0o-

Upon their eventual return to San Francisco, the Enforcers received a harsh verbal lashing from Valmont.

"You incompetent buffoons. You let an archaeologist get the better of you! Here in the Dark Hand, we take pride in our top criminal activity. If you cannot handle the responsibility..." He continued to reprimand the group.

Ivory stood out of sight behind the group of men until Valmont had finished his lecture. She was brought forth when the boss had expressed all of his chagrin.

"Well boss, the trip wasn't a total bust," Chow introduced his cousin.

She stepped forward and offered a large handful of gold coins.

"Souvenirs from Mexico," Finn added.

"Enjoy!" Ratso continued.

"A gift, er, for you," Ivory stated awkwardly. What an intimidating man.

"Well it would seem that not _all _of you are inept," he stated mildly. He turned to the girl with slight interest. "You may be of help to the Dark Hand after all."


End file.
